Graves And Chausson Find Redemption At Crankworx Whistler In Round Five Of Enduro World Series

Wins Were Hard Fought And Earned As France’s Jerome Clementz and Great Britain’s Tracy Moseley Place Second In the SRAM Canadian Open Enduro, Presented by Specialized

Jared Graves (AUS) has finally taken his first Enduro World Series (EWS) round against the impeccable Jerome Clementz (FRA) after a full day of mountain bike racing in the SRAM Canadian Open Enduro, presented by Specialized. The legendary Anne Caroline Chausson (FRA) also took the first EWS win of her career ahead of Tracey Moseley (GB) with an extraordinary performance that included severe mechanicals and serious effort. The stages used around the Whistler Valley and the Whistler Mountain Bike Park for today’s race have been regarded as some of the finest, most technical trails seen on the Enduro World Series yet, and were a true test of athletic endurance and mountain bike skills.

Anne Caroline Chausson - photo Nina Bianca

Jared Graves- photo Nina Bianca

“I’m super happy to be back at the top,” says Anne Caroline Chausson. The French mountain biking legend took the win ahead of the nearly perfect Tracy Moseley of Great Britain by just over one minute and four seconds. “I’m back [from an injury sustained in competition] and I’m in good shape. I liked the courses here. They were really tough, and they are really technical and physical trails.” Chausson, who had to stop in stage four to remove her chain and carry on without the ability to pedal, won stages one, two and four and proved to be the ultimate contender throughout the day in Whistler. She ended her day by taking home a $5,000 cheque to complement her efforts.

Jerome Clementz- photo Nina Bianca

Graves had to work for his win against Clementz and was tactical in his focus of the final stage of the day, which he won by an incredible 24 seconds. “I can’t believe it, I’m so happy,” says Graves. “I wanted to win this one so bad and all day Jerome’s just been one step ahead of me…I pretty much had a perfect run [in Stage 5]. I knew the track well; I practiced most of that trail and I knew that’s where you could make up a lot of time.” Graves’ day earned him a paycheque of $10,000, the highest prize purse seen in the discipline of Enduro since the sport began.

The fifth stage of the Enduro World Series' SRAM Canadian Open Enduro, presented by Specialized was a descent of the entire vertical of the Whistler Mountain Bike Park, beginning on the epic Top Of the World trail, through the notoriously gnarly Garbanzo zone and down to the Whistler Valley. Riders regarded the fifth stage of this race was as some of the toughest riding of the day, especially after traveling the span of Whistler’s finest single-track for nearly eight hours that day with 51 kilometres traveled in total and raced across 19 kilometres.

The SRAM Canadian Open Enduro, presented by Specialized, combined lift access with approximately 863 metres of climbing. Riders traveled from Whistler Peak to the valley, twice, with the final stage an epic 10.63 kilometre, 1450 metre vertical top-to-bottom test-piece of endurance. The stages of the race were developed in consultation with pro rider Richie Schley, and Whistler local and Enduro aficionado Seb Kemp. The added “Whistler” twist was that, unlike in previous rounds, riders were not be able to return to the pits in between the first four stages, demanding a much higher degree of self-sufficiency and equipment management than has been required before.

Says Enduro World Series Managing Director, Chris Ball, “It was truly an epic day and a true test for everybody. The course delivered, the Crankworx team put on an amazing event and the racers delivered. Feedback from the riders was incredible - they enjoyed every stage.”

The Enduro World Series moves next, August 24-25, to Val d'Isere in France for a combined event that includes Round 6 of the Enduro World Series and the Enduro of Nations.

Crankworx Whistler will be back on Tuesday, August 13th with the Garbanzo DH, live webcasting starting at 4:15pm PDT / UTC -7hrs, and the Go Pro Dirt Diaries film event at Whistler Olympic Plaza at 8pm. Tickets for the licensed, adults only area with seating are $5 and available at Whistler Blackcomb guest relations. There is also a Family Zone with seating available for $5 as well; otherwise everyone can experience the event on the grass for free. For more information about the SRAM Canadian Open Enduro, presented by Specialized, and all other Crankworx Whistler events, visit www.crankworx.com.